ISLAMABAD: Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem won the gold medal in the men’s javelin final at the Asian Athletics Championship in Gumi, South Korea, with a throw of 86.40 meters.
As per the media reports, India’s Sachin Yadav earned the silver medal with a throw of 85.16 meters, while Japan’s Yuta Sakiyama took the bronze with 83.75 meters.
Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage led early in the competition but finished fourth with a throw of 83.27 meters. Pakistan’s Muhammad placed eighth with a throw of 75.39 meters.
Nadeem, who set an Olympic record with a 92.97-meter throw at the Paris 2024 Olympics, came close to breaking the championship record of 86.72 meters.
Nadeem started the final with throws of 75.64 meters and 76.80 meters. He took the lead with an 85.57-meter throw on his third attempt, followed by throws of 83.99 meters and 83.44 meters. On his sixth and final throw, he reached 86.40 meters to secure the gold medal.
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The crowd cheered as Nadeem stepped onto the field for his first throw, with Pakistani flags visible in the stands.
The stadium played ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ as fans awaited Nadeem’s performance. This was his first international competition since the Paris Olympics last year.
In the qualifying heats the previous day, Nadeem threw 86.34 meters on his only attempt to advance to the final. His teammate Yasir threw 76.07 meters in the heats.
After qualifying, Nadeem posted on Instagram, asking for his supporters’ prayers and encouragement. Nadeem’s gold medal was Pakistan’s only medal at the championship.
Earlier in the week, Pakistan’s Tameen Khan ran the women’s 100-meter heats in 12.14 seconds, finishing 17th. In the men’s 400-meter heats, Shajar Abbas ran 47.17 seconds and 47.38 seconds in the semi-finals, placing 12th overall.
Abdul Mueed ran 50.10 seconds in the heats, finishing 27th. Nadeem will travel to England to train for the World Athletics Championships in September.
